


How can you miss someone you've never met?

by ThatsCrazyRandom



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Background Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Holding Hands, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Percico Angst & Fluff Month 2020, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Underage because canon ages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25780678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatsCrazyRandom/pseuds/ThatsCrazyRandom
Summary: Percy misses the moment when his timer finally ticks down to zero.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 256
Collections: Percico Angst and Fluff Month 2020





	1. Soulmate Marks

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story for Percico Angst and Fluff month 2020!  
> I'll be updating this with a new chapter for each week in August (hopefully), and each will have a different prompt.

Percy had never really paid too much attention to his soulmate timer. 

By the time he was eleven, he started to realise that he was weird because his timer only had a couple of years left.

But to an eleven-year-old, two years seemed like a lifetime.

At twelve, it scared him a little, especially being foisted into this crazy world of gods and monsters. 

He pretty much ignored it. 

He checked it occasionally, everyone did, but he figured that when he met his soulmate, he’d probably realise, or they’d at least tell him. 

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened at all. 

He’d known his timer was getting low. Really, he had. 

He wasn’t that hopeless, despite what Annabeth and Thalia seemed to think. 

He’d been fidgeting with it on the drive to Westover Hall, but he hadn’t quite registered how low it was. 

If he had, he would have known that he was probably going to meet his soulmate right there at Westover Hall, and stayed vigilant enough to actually know who it was.

What actually happened was; a messy and dangerous fight with a manticore, Annabeth got thrown off a cliff, Bianca di Angelo joined the Hunt, Percy met two gods, and then…

“My timer!” He exclaimed as Apollo was trying to convince Thalia to drive his chariot. 

“What?” Thalia asked, sounding somewhat grateful for the diversion from Apollo’s pestering. 

“My timer is…” Percy could hardly believe it, but it was staring right at him. 

Thalia grabbed his wrist and yanked it so she could see his timer. 

“Holy shit Jackson,” she commented. 

Apollo clapped, “Congratulations! I love those things, so fun! I was one of the ones who voted yes when Aphrodite suggested the idea.” 

“But I don’t know…” Percy trailed off as he thought about all the people he had met since he last checked his timer. 

All the teachers he met at Westover, all the students he bumped into, the huntresses… He couldn’t even rule out Apollo. 

“This is so sad, I could make a haiku about this,” Apollo said. 

“Please don’t,” Grover said, giving Percy a pitying glance.

“Let’s see, 

His timer ran out.

Percy Jackson is so sad.

Who is his soulmate?” Apollo recited, counting off the syllables on his fingers.

Percy sighed, rubbing his face. 

“Gods, I’m so stupid,” He muttered. 

“Well, maybe pray to Aphrodite and she’ll help you find them, she does love a good story. But we have to be moving. Daughter of Zeus, heads up.” Apollo said, tossing the keys to Thalia, despite her protests. 

Grover patted Percy’s shoulder sympathetically. 

“Sorry man, I wish I could’ve known,” He said. 

Percy sighed, placing his head in his hands. 

After that, it might’ve been the only time Percy was actually grateful for a quest, even if it wasn’t technically given to him. 

He needed the distraction, and he was glad to be able to focus it on something useful, like saving Annabeth. 

\--

Meanwhile, Nico was adjusting to this crazy new camp. 

He'd been so overwhelmed by everything, from the monsters, and the gods, and Bianca leaving, that he hadn't noticed his timer ticking down, and stopping at 0 until he'd met about half the people at camp already.

He sighed slightly, disappointed, but he was 10. Soulmates weren't that big of a deal. 

Still, he kind of wished he had someone to talk to, and he supposed a soulmate would've been good for that. 

Connor was fun, but even he got sick of Nico sometimes, handing him off to one of his boyfriends for a while. 

Nico didn't mind, they were all nice. Lee was trying to teach him how to play guitar, and Malcolm would explain what was actually real from Greek Mythology, and Mitchell tried to play Mythomagic with him, even if he was pretty hopeless at it.

He just felt like he didn't really fit in… He missed Bianca. For so long he had only had her and now there were so many others, and she wasn't here. 

He fidgeted with his timer. 

Maybe knowing who his soulmate was would've been nice.


	2. Regrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look this is really short and barely fits the prompt but this just didn't wanna work for me okay?   
> Also, I messed with some canon regarding Sally & Paul but it's fine.

After everything, when Percy finally got to see his mum again, he basically collapsed in her arms. 

Without the immediate danger and stress of the quest, the fact he had missed his soulmate had been weighing down on him the whole way home from camp. 

His mum hugged him close. 

"Hey sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked gently, stroking his hair. 

Percy sighed softly, swallowing. "Rough quest," he muttered. 

"Oh honey.." 

"And.." He offered out his arm with his timer on it. 

She gasped, "You met them?" 

Percy nodded miserably.

"Well? Who are they? Are they nice? Why aren't you with them?" 

"I missed it," Percy admitted. 

Sally's eyes widened and she hugged him again. 

"Oh Percy, I'm so sorry," she said softly. 

Percy nodded, blinking back tears. It felt stupid to cry over this, but he felt awful. Everything was just too much. He let himself be held. 

"Uh Sally the cof- Oh. Sorry." 

Percy stepped back, looking at the man who had just walked in from the kitchen, and then back at his mum. 

"Right, it, uh. It jams sometimes," Sally said, looking more awkward than Percy had ever seen her. 

The man nodded, glancing at Percy and also looking awkward. 

Sally sighed, "Percy, this is Paul, Paul, my son Percy." 

Percy nodded and shook the man's hand when he offered. 

"Hi.." He said, still unsure what he was doing there. 

"M just gonna.." Paul gestured back to the kitchen, before almost running out of the room.

Sally winced a little, as Percy smirked slightly. 

"I was going to tell you." 

"So?" 

"Fine," Sally held out her arm, showing her timer on 0. 

"Mom! That's great! Is he nice? Do you like him?" Percy said, smiling, despite his situation. He was happy for his mom. 

Sally shushed him, "He's very nice, and yes I do. I think you'll like him Percy," she said softly. 

She explained how they'd met, and Percy could tell she was blushing lightly, which made him smile. His mom deserved someone who made her happy. 

He just wished he could've been sharing his story in return. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should get writing the 3rd and 4th parts of this huh.  
> I promise they'll be longer than this.


	3. "I can't sleep"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the good one folks.

With everything that had happened, Percy’s soulmate got shoved to the back of his mind.

It wasn’t until after he’d been sent back to camp with everyone, that he’d thought he could’ve asked the gods for a little help with it. 

Too late now he guessed. 

It wasn’t exactly surprising that Percy couldn’t sleep the day after. 

The first night, he’d been way too exhausted to even think.

As soon as the adrenaline wore off, he was out like a light. 

But the next night, every time he closed his eyes he saw all the shrouds they had to burn, all the kids he hadn’t been able to keep safe. 

He snuck out to the beach, sitting in the sand. 

Staring at the water relaxed him.

He glanced at his wrist, the timer staring back at him, the date of that fateful trip to Westover Hall displayed in clear black font. 

He glanced at the stars and thought about what Apollo had told him. 

It felt like so long ago, but it hadn’t even been two years. 

He sighed softly, and covered the timer with his other hand, looking down. 

“Aphrodite, I guess I’ve never really talked to you much, but…” He started quietly, feeling kind of dumb, “But I missed my soulmate, and I would really… appreciate the chance to know them. To.. love.. them. And I guess, being the goddess of love, you probably want that too right?” 

He dropped his wrist, sighing. 

“This was a dumb idea.” 

“What was a dumb idea?” Nico asked softly, appearing behind him. 

“Oh my g- Nico!” Percy said, jumping a mile at the unexpected intrusion.

“Sorry,” he said, sitting down beside him, sounding not very apologetic at all, “What are you doing out here?” 

“I can’t sleep.” 

“So you decide to come get sand in your shoes and talk to yourself, I see, makes sense,” Nico replied sarcastically. 

Percy laughed a little, “Yeah, I guess so. What are you doing out here? I didn’t know you were at camp.” 

“Yeah, my dad said I should stay for a little while. Besides, thanks to a certain somebody I’m going to be getting my own cabin pretty soon.”

“You’re staying in the Hermes cabin?”

“Yeah, but I think Hades cabin is going to be lucky number 13 so…”

Percy laughed a little. 

They fell silent for a moment. 

Percy glanced at his timer again. 

“Hey, Nico?” 

“Yeah?” 

“When does your timer run out?” Percy asked quietly. 

It wasn’t something he normally talked about, but he’d been thinking about soulmates, and the quiet peace of the moment made it feel like it was okay. 

Nico looked at him, a little confused, and surprised.

“Uh...” Nico tugged the sleeve of his jacket over his wrist.

“Shit, sorry that was rude,” Percy said, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. 

“No uh, it... It already ran out. A couple of years ago,” Nico said. 

Percy sat up a little, surprised. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah... I don’t know who it was.” 

Percy frowned, “Oh shit..” 

Nico looked down, nodding. 

“I’m the same,” Percy admitted, “My timer ran out while I was in the middle of... Well, getting you and Bianca actually. And I never knew who it was.” 

Nico looked at him in shock. 

“When?” 

“Uh... When we went to Westover Hall to find you and Bianca?” Percy said, confused as to why Nico suddenly looked a lot more invested in their conversation. 

Unless... No. 

Percy held up his arm, showing Nico the frozen date on the timer. 

Nico’s eyes widened, and trembling slightly, he brought his arm up beside Percy’s. 

Percy gasped softly. 

The numbers matched, right down to the second. 

He glanced at Nico, who was still looking at their timer’s as if he couldn’t comprehend it. 

Hell, Percy could hardly comprehend it. 

Nico was his soulmate. 

Nico di Angelo had been his soulmate the entire time. 

Percy’s view of their interactions shifted and suddenly he had no idea how he couldn’t see it before. 

Nico looked at him.

“I- Percy..” He breathed. 

Percy smiled at him, “I found you,” He said quietly. 

Nico finally stopped looking so shell shocked to laugh a little. 

“I think you mean I found you. You were just here talking to yourself,” he teased. 

Percy laughed quietly, nodding. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay that’s fair.”

Percy looked at their hands around, and slowly, so Nico could easily move away if he wanted, he took his hand, resting them both in the sand between them. 

“It feels so obvious now,” Percy said, looking out at the ocean. 

“Really?” Nico asked, sounding surprised. 

“I mean yeah... You’ve always been there. I.. I guess I was always drawn to you? I just didn't notice you know? There was always other stuff going on. And you saved my life. At least twice. Do you not think so?” 

“No I.. I guess I thought it was like.. Wistful thinking.” 

Percy glanced at him, smirking a little. 

Nico looked back, “What?” 

“You had a crush on me?” 

“We’re literally soulmates Jackson.” 

“Still…” Percy grinned teasingly, laughing as Nico shoved him. 

Percy sat back up and caught Nico’s eyes.

He paused, looking into them.

He slowly tugged Nico closer with their joined hands, and with his free hand, reached to cup his cheek. 

He moved in slowly, but Nico didn’t pull away, and Percy kissed him, and it felt just as good as everyone always said it would. 


	4. "I'll always be here for you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some dialogue is directly from Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.  
> I tried my best to be canon-compliant.

Good things don’t last. Not if you’re Percy Jackson. 

And things had been so very good for Percy. 

He and Nico had agreed to take things slow, but they were spending more time together, and Percy had introduced him to his mom, who had already loved him from the time Nico came from his birthday. 

Percy even thought that he might be falling in love already. 

All in all, things had been looking really good in Percy’s life. 

Not that Percy remembered any of this. 

All he remembered was his time at the Wolf House, and the name Nico di Angelo. 

He hadn’t had much of a chance to really think about the memory, because he’d spent way too much time fighting the three snake-haired ladies who SHOULD ALREADY BE DEAD. 

No matter what he did, the snake-haired ladies would reform merely a couple of hours after he turned them into dust. 

It was exhausting. 

Eventually he made it to Camp Jupiter. 

Finally, he was able to chill for more than a few minutes, even though his head was reeling with all the new information. He felt the adrenaline that had been keeping him going for the past few days begin to ebb as Hazel led him through the camp to meet this Octavian guy. 

Percy kind of thought this Octavian was a bit of a dick, and he was ready to pull his sword out when he heard him blackmail Hazel. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance. 

“By the way, your brother is here,” Octavian said to Hazel. 

Percy noticed Hazel stiffen.

“My brother? Why?” 

“Why does your brother do anything? He’s waiting for you at your father’s shrine. Just… ah, don’t invite him to stay too long. He has a disturbing effect on the others. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to keep searching for our poor lost friend, Jason. Nice to meet you, Percy,” Octavian said.

Hazel stormed out of the temple, and Percy followed her, not wanting to stay with Octavian any longer, and also mildly curious about this brother.

Luckily, Hazel invited Percy to meet him.

She led him over to a black crypt in the side of the hill. In front there was a boy about the same age as Percy wearing black jeans and an aviator jacket. 

“Hey, I brought a friend,” Hazel said as they approached. 

They were maybe 10 metres away when the boy turned to them and Percy’s heart stopped. 

He knew this boy.

Percy stopped in his tracks, causing Hazel to look at him funny, but when the boy looked at him, he also seemed to freeze. 

“Percy…?” 

“Nico di Angelo.. It’s you. I know you.”

Percy rushed forward and Nico caught him. 

“Oh my gods, where have you been?” Nico was asking as they hugged tightly. 

Percy’s heart was beating out of his chest. This was his soulmate. That’s why the name Nico di Angelo had felt so important. 

Eventually they pulled back. Nico was staring at Percy like he was seeing a ghost, and Percy knew he probably looked the same. 

“Um, you two know each other?” Hazel asked, standing off to the side. 

Nico coughed awkwardly. 

“He’s my soulmate,” Percy said, certain of it now. 

Looking at Nico, he couldn’t imagine how he’d ever forgotten his face. 

Hazel raised an eyebrow and looked at Nico sharply. 

“You told me you didn’t have a soulmate.”

“Well he has been missing for over six months,” Nico said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Six months?” Percy asked, shocked. 

“I think you have a lot of explaining to do,” Nico said, “Tell me everything.” 

The three of them sat down, and Hazel helped Percy explain what had happened, and in return, Nico told him about the Earth goddess. 

Nico looked like things were making sense, even Hazel looked like she knew what was going on, but Percy was still confused. 

He supposed it was to be expected. He had lost his memory after all. 

“I can’t tell you much, but important things are at play. I’m trying my best to work things out, but some secrets have to stay secret,” Nico said. 

He definitely knew a lot more than he was letting on, but Percy trusted him. 

He was his soulmate after all. 

Hazel nodded. 

Soon their conversation was cut short by Frank’s arrival. 

Apparently Percy had to clean up for ‘evening muster.’ 

At least Frank was sympathetic about his panda. 

\-- 

Nico found him later, after the war games, and the quest from the god Ares – no, Mars. 

They walked along a path overlooking the Fields of Mars, looking out over the carnage from that night’s war games. 

“You did good in the war games. They had no idea what hit them,” Nico said, laughing a little. 

Percy felt his cheeks heat up a little at the compliment and hoped Nico didn’t notice. 

“Did you hear Octavian? I’ve never heard a guy scream that high before.” 

Nico laughed, and Percy felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Yeah I did, but Octavian is kind of a wimp.” 

Percy nodded. That didn’t surprise him. 

He knew they were just edging around the real conversation they needed to be having, and decided to just jump right into it.

“We are soulmate’s right?” Percy asked. 

Nico sighed a little. 

“Yeah we are. We met on this day,” Nico tapped Percy’s timer, “But we didn’t figure it out until a couple years later. Four months after that, you disappeared. No one has been able to find you, not even Gr-. No one.”

Percy noticed the slip, but decided to ignore it.

“Are we.. dating?” 

“We were.. Kind of. A little bit. But we don’t have to be. I know you’re confused, and disoriented. Don’t need to throw my bullshit into the mix. I’ll always be here for you, dating or not,” Nico said, looking at him.

“I want to. I feel it. All I remember is you. But there are flashes. Other people. Lots of orange,” Percy said, tilting his head a little in confusion. 

He didn’t want think about it too hard, because it gave him a headache, but Nico laughed. 

“Yeah that sounds about right,” Nico said, smiling wryly.

“Will you be here when we get back?” Percy asked. 

Nico shook his head. Percy frowned. 

“I want to be, but like I said earlier, important things are at play. I want to find out as much as I can, and I need to help my dad keep things under control..” Nico said.

“Okay..” Percy said, nodding. 

He guessed he understood, but he still wished he had a chance to spend time with Nico, and not just because he clearly knew about Percy’s past. 

Nico pulled him in and kissed him softly. 

“We’ll get through this.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Woo! I think it's kind of a weak ending but I really didn't know how to finish it.   
> Either way, this was really fun to write, and I'm glad I participated in this event.   
> Thank you to Mod Neps (tumblr @/lilneps) and Mod Sin (tumblr @/citrussine) for running the event! It was fun!

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that Soulmate timers count as Soulmate marks because a timer is technically a mark. It's a technicality but it's one I will cling too.


End file.
